Religion & Cults News – Wednesday

• The Berlin attack is right out of the terror handbooks

  The world’s deadliest terrorist groups are increasingly open about their intentions, tactics, and targets. Last month, Rumiyah, the slickest terrorist magazine on the Internet market, was very precise. The “most appropriate” killing vehicle, the Islamic State publication advised, is a “load-bearing truck” that is “double-wheeled, giving victims less of a chance to escape being crushed by the vehicle’s tires.” It should be “heavy in weight, assuring the destruction of whatever it hits.” It should also have a “slightly raised chassis and bumper, which allow for the mounting of sidewalks and breeching of barriers if needed.” And it should have a “reasonably fast” rate of acceleration.

  In the same issue, Rumiyah urged Islamic State members, or sympathizers anywhere in the world, to hop in vehicles—steal them, if need be—and attack outdoor markets, public celebrations, political rallies, and pedestrian-congested streets. “All so-called ‘civilian’ (and low security) parades and gatherings are fair game and more devastating to Crusader nation,” the magazine, which is published in several languages, said. [...more...]
  - Source: The New Yorker

  Islamic State calls Berlin attacker a 'soldier' as manhunt for killer resumes

  Berlin attack: Police hunt Tunisian suspect after finding ID papers in truck

  Analysis: intelligence has limits in preventing truck-borne terror

  See: Islam and Terrorism

• Interview with living members of Heaven's Gate UFO suicide cult

  In March 1997, 39 members of the Heaven’s Gate cult committed mass suicide inside a mansion in Rancho Santa Fe, near San Diego, California. Police discovered their bodies on March 26. It was the largest mass-suicide in U.S. history.

  But the group's website is still available -- and is maintained by two ex-members. Troy James Weaver contacted them:

  So why maintain the website? Obviously if you still believe it, you are a proponent/member of something, right? The reason I ask about suicide, is because if Do and Ti were the only Next Level Members, what does that say about the others who took their own lives? They were human, correct? Not inhabiting a human body, but human? I’m confused by this and what I’ve read. I’m just trying to understand more clearly. Also, what is a task partner?

  The website is to provide information for their future return. We are designated to maintain and care for it.

  Humans are not to commit suicide. Those 38, and those 38 only, we allowed to shed their human body, take on space-capable, Next Level bodies and depart this planet. No human can do that or would be allowed to do that. We know you are confused about this but those individuals did not commit suicide. They broke the bond of human connection and quickly switched to a Next Level one.

  [Ed. note: Reports showed that there were 39 bodies, suggesting that Heaven’s Gate does not include Marshall Applewhite a human.]
  - Source: Fanzine

  More about Heaven's Gate

• Ex-Scientologists tell disturbing stories about David Miscavige, the ‘pope of Scientology,’ on A&E series

  The dwindling Scientology cult can't get a break nowadays. It is exposed to daylight on the internet, on television, on YouTube, on countless blogs and websites, in new book after new book, and by more and more ex-members -- including those who held high ranks and/or were inside for significant amount of time.

  And then there was actress Leah Remini.

  Remini left the 'Church of Scientology' in 2013 — after 35 years as a devout member — and ever since, she has been on a crusade to expose the controversial organization’s secrets. Including those persistent stories about cult leader David Miscavige.

  This Washington Post article talks about her ongoing A&E television series, 'Scientology and the Aftermath.' It also highlights the way the 'church' can't help but shoot itself in the foot by -- time and again -- engaging in a hate campaign against those who left the destructive cult.

  As usual, A&E put up a disclaimer at the beginning of the episode and between each act break, given the religion’s leaders harshly condemned the series and denied many of the claims. The church also has called Remini an “obnoxious, spiteful ex-Scientologist” who is angry that she was expelled from the church, and that she’s doing the series for money; they also said the show is “doomed to be a cheap reality TV show by a has-been actress now a decade removed from the peak of her career.”

  Scientology likes to call itself a 'church' and a 'religion.' At Apologetics Index, we call Scientology a hate group.

  Here's how the cult destroys friendships, families and other relationships.

Full story: Religion & Cults News – Wednesday